How To Fix iOS 8.2 Battery Drain Issue On iPhone

iOS 8.2 is taking its toll on the iPhone’s battery life for some users, and with that, iOS 8 woes continue despite a number of updates since its release last year. If you’re experiencing some less-than-normal battery drain on your iPhone, head over the jump for a quick trick that may help fix the issue for now.

As expected, Apple released iOS 8.2 following the Spring forward media event a few days back, where the release brought in the obvious support for the Apple Watch. Coupled with that update were some bug fixes and stability enhancements, but Apple also snuck in some improvements and subtle new features to the Health app, which is causing most of the strain on the battery. The solution: shut it off completely.

While the Health app and its fitness tracking feature is surely an invaluable addition to iOS 8 as a whole, you have to question yourself if you really use the app at all. Hence, as you already might have guessed, this temporary fix is more inclined towards users who aren’t bothered with Apple’s fitness features one bit.

Note: These steps are applicable to iPhone models that have a built-in motion coprocessor, which includes the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus.

Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Scroll down to Privacy and tap it.

Step 3: Look for the Motion & Fitness option and select it.

Step 4: You should now see an option titled ‘Fitness Tracking,’ simply turn it ‘Off’ to disable your iPhone from tracking various fitness parameters.

We will say that the method above is not entirely the most effective one at hand for preserving or extending the battery life on your iPhone if you’ve already updated to iOS 8.2, but it will help cut off some needless drain courtesy of an app that’s not being used at all in the first place by some users.

Disabling fitness tracking is something that has seen more of a mixed result so far, and ultimately it boils down to how you use your iPhone as well, so let us know if you’re experiencing any battery issues on the new iOS update and if this trick has helped.

“The solution: shut it off completely.” –> When I first read that, I thought it meant the phone…. Then I checked the date and it wasn’t April 1…

You guys need to start writing more meaningful articles!

Bob

“While the Health app and its fitness tracking feature is surely an invaluable addition to iOS 8 as a whole…”

LOL!

Andretti808

Yea see no option to disable

chris

I have health appon iphone 6 (not iwatch, no 3rd party software)
what is the point for this app alone. how do you input all the micrgrams of vitamins and all your intakes . this is insane. it tok he hours to iput all, then what???

chris

if you are jailbroken: download in Cydia: Battsaver ($3.00)
iphone 6 with big use last 16h

chris

LMAO

FrodBonzi

Lol, so you need to advertise too? If you are using Cydia, you aren’t on 8.2 – which can’t be jailbroken yet….

I’m still using 8.1.2 myself and my battery is fine… And why on Earth would anyone pay $3 for something that can be done for free?

Gator5000e

I’ve had major battery drain issues since 8.1.3 as have many others if judging by the Apple Community discussions. I would go from 100% at 8AM to 20% by 4 or 5PM with very little usage. The phone would drain while idel with the screen off. The usage and standby times would be extremely close. The one and only change on my iPhone 6 that helped tremendously was to log out of iCloud completely. Not just shut down all of the iCloud services – that didn’t work for me – but to log out completely. Since doing that my phone only goes down to 55-60% by 10PM with the same amount of use as before. And the standby and usage figures are completely different, as they should be.

Something is using iCloud in the background that can’t be turned off by the user that is draining battery. After getting the phone replaced twice, running stock apps only, restoring as a new phone, etc., only the complete log out from iCloud worked.

yamdigger

Beware that if you do that, you’re ability to find or remotely lock down your phone if it’s stolen is gone.

Gator5000e

I completely understand that I lose FMP as well as iCloud backup and Photostream, etc. But the drain I was getting before logging out of iCloud was unacceptable. Now the phone will likely last a full 24-36 hours under normal use.

Yes, you’re right. Anyway, as soon as a new jailbreak is released, give it a try. It may give you extra amps.

mickloud

My phone sits on my nightstand idle with the screen off and loses 60% in a night since 8.2. I’m so goddamn sick and tired of these recommended “tricks” and “fixes” for piss-poor development testing. Disabling a major feature of my new hardware is not a “fix” and it sure as hell isn’t a “trick” — it’s a total cop out. This is pure, unfiltered bullshit.

chris

i am on 8.1.2. because this app, switch 3G/wifi on /off automatically. I have an extra 3 h since use. I think it is a very usefull app when u travel.
You can try the demo for free

chris

beacuse it got some very useful features. for ex: when u switch off your phone, 3g/wifi,.. got switched of. when u power it up, 3g is switch on again. If you travel, it will help a lots. I get every day an extra 2/3 h since i use it.

Guest

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Hedrush

That’s not RedmondPies fault though. No point ranting at them, take your grievance up with Apple if your iPhone is losing so much battery power, overnight, whilst sitting there doing nothing. Personally I think your talking utter nonsense. If my new iPhone was losing more than half its battery life overnight I’d have it back at Apple the very next day.

mickloud

“Personally I think your talking utter nonsense.”

…….and yet here you are commenting on an article about 8.2 battery drain. Are you dense? As soon as I downgraded to 8.1.3 the problems went away.

The point is that when you have sites like this hitting the first page of search results as “how to fix iOS 8.2 battery drain”, and the recommended “fix” is to fucking disable critical components of your new hardware, this only perpetuates the lazy development and troubleshooting cycle that we’re all expected to eat up every 3 months with joy.

If you had to disable the wireless or sound card driver in your laptop just so the battery wouldn’t run out on you in an unreasonable amount of time, would you call that a “fix” or would you tell the manufacturer to go pound sand?

Sites like this should be an advocate for the throngs of loyal iPhone users and call Apple on the carpet as to why users are expected to disable components that were just marketed as “new features” on their 6-month old hardware just to regain normal battery life rather than have the expectation that the latest OS version built specifically for their current top-of-the-line flagship phone would not destroy their battery without warning.

Instead, they publish, enable and perpetuate this BS “fix” and we all lose a little bit more. (I realize it’s not just Redmond Pie — they all do it — but this is just where I landed)

I had the same problem with an iPhone 5 (not the 5S, just the regular 5), which doesn’t have the Motion & Fitness option to disable.

However, a full backup to iTunes, followed by a complete Restore of my iPhone 5 in DFU mode solved all my problems.

My battery is now as good as new! I mean, at least as good as it was a couple of days ago (not exactly new, although it has been replaced a few months ago).

CanadianLoki1976

I know what you mean, I wish I never updated to 8.2. Just last night I had a full 100% charge, didn’t use it at ALL from about 10pm- 5.30 AM, and I see it lost 35% charge down to 65%. Sitting in standby. That is insanely bad.
It just trickles away. The worst update ever.

I have an iPhone5s and have had exactly the same problem since 8.1.3 (and subsequently 8.2 and 8.3). I’ve done everything that Apple suggested including full factory reset but nothing has made a difference. Not even disabling iCloud (but I need it for various things anyway). I wish Apple would fix it instead of working on politically correct emoji.